Karot Walks Someone Home

Konan felt a pang of sorrow when she thought of Nagato's self-destruction to save her life. The three of them left the village for their dreams, supporting each other along the way, only to find themselves alone after all the twists and turns.

"Can I go to Konoha now?"

Konan recalled Nagato's last words to her. In Nagato's view, the only option left was for Konoha to take Konan. After all, the Akatsuki Organization under Nagato's control had shown no mercy to the other ninja villages. Capturing their Tailed Beast alone would have been enough to make them obliterate Konan. Only Konoha hadn't been taken care of. The key reason was that their teacher, Konoha Jiraiya.

Nagato certainly wouldn't send Konan to Konoha for just this reason. If you have no value, why should anyone stand up for you? Nagato hasn't been the leader for nothing these past few years. Konan holds many of Akatsuki Organization's secrets. Nagato hasn't hidden anything from Konan; after all, in his heart Konan is far more important than himself. This is also why the Masked Man put a bounty on Konan at the Bounty Hunter's Guild. The Masked Man doesn't intend to reveal these secrets yet. After all, he's not invincible yet.

"Boom"

Just as Konan was pondering, a sudden explosion rang out. Konan knew that the trap she had set had been triggered. She immediately lowered her aura to a minimum and hid.

"She must be nearby, everyone be careful."

Soon, four ninjas arrived at the open space next to Konan. This was a ninja squad, and as soon as the leader finished speaking, the four of them began searching outwards from their starting point.

Konan unconsciously gripped the kunai in her hand. She needed to figure out how to get out of her predicament as quickly as possible. There were simply too many people chasing her; it was a relentless, wave after wave. This kept Konan in a constant state of tension and exhaustion. This was exactly Masked Man wanted; he wanted to wait and see how Konan would fare. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered; Nagato was a perfect example. His final self-destruction had left a deep impression on the Masked Man; he was injured, and his henchmen were more seriously wounded. So now, as long as you paid, someone would take care of things for you. The key was money. The Masked Man was now so poor that all he had left was money.

The forest under the cover of darkness was fraught with danger, but this also provided Konan with secrecy for her actions. A ninja, by sheer bad luck, arrived at Konan's hiding place and began to urinate. Just as this ninja had pulled down his pants to relieve himself, his vigilance was at its lowest.

Just as the ninja's face showed a look of enjoyment, the Grim Reaper arrived right in front of him.

With lightning speed, Konan slashed the ninja's neck with a kunai.

"Uh-huh."

The ninja clutched his neck, trying to stop the gushing blood, but it was all in vain. He could only fall to the ground with his last lingering attachment to the world, his eyes wide open in death. Konan caught his body and gently laid him down, not wanting to make any unusual noise that would arouse the suspicion of the other three ninjas.

"There are three more."

Konan said calmly, as if those weren't three lives, but just a simple number. Perhaps Konan also understood her current predicament: either she would kill all the enemies chasing her, or she would be worn down to death by their sheer numbers.

Konan was like a diligent sapper. She quickly and silently appeared behind another ninja. The only sound was the kunai slicing through a neck, but that sound was almost completely drowned out by the animal's cry.

"Answer me."

At the agreed-upon contact time, the team leader ninja called out, but things didn't go as planned. He received no response from his three subordinates. His heart sank, and without hesitation, he turned and ran. At that moment, only one thought occupied his mind: survival. He hadn't expected the enemy to eliminate his teammates so silently, making him worry about becoming next. At this point, revenge was out of the question. Whether he would even survive was uncertain.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the team leader was kicked back. It was this kick that made him understand why the woman's bounty was so generous. He had been completely attracted by the amount and hadn't considered the dangers hidden beneath the hefty reward.

This kick was just the beginning. Konan's combo arrived in an instant, and Konan jumped directly into the leader's arms. The ninja leader instinctively hugged Konan, but this action tolled his death knell. Konan kept stabbing into and out of the ninja leader's stomach. Before long, the leader collapsed in front of Konan.

"Phew~"

Konan out a long sigh of relief and relaxed. Knowing it wasn't time to rest, she collected her spoils and immediately left, as the smell of blood would surely attract other pursuers. As she walked, Konan carefully erased her tracks; while this wouldn't prevent her pursuers from finding her, it would at least delay them. Konan was now extremely cautious. Before Konan, she disappeared into the night.

Unlike Konan's bloody escape, things were much more fun on Konoha's side. What was originally a date arranged by best friends for Kazumi turned into a classmate reunion. This left Rin and Shizune, the "instigators," both amused and exasperated.

Kakashi suffered a regrettable defeat, Obito lost a chance to shine in front of Rin. Might Guy won one more time than Kakashi and was laughing happily.

The hustle and bustle of the night will eventually come to an end.

"Karot, you're in charge of getting Kazumi back safely."

After Rin finished speaking, she grabbed Shizune and ran off, giving Karot no chance to refuse. Kakashi also grabbed Naruto and ran off. Obito naturally gave Rin his full approval to her decision. Before long, only Karot and Kazumi were left.

"Let's go! I'll take you home."

"Um."

The two walked side by side down the road. It was quiet and harmonious.

"Arrive."

After arriving home, he spoke to Kazumi.

"So fast."

Karot said, somewhat incredulously, "Time always flies when I'm with Kazumi."

"Then you can go in."

Karot turned to leave after seeing Kazumi enter the house, but suddenly heard Kazumi's voice behind him.

"Karot."

"Hmm? Is there anything else?"

Karot asked, looking at Kazumi who was rushing out in a hurry.

Be careful!

Although Kazumi didn't know what Karot and Orochimaru were plotting, she just wanted Karot to be safe and sound.

"Don't worry, I'm invincible."

Karot looked at Kazumi, who was rushing out, and said something. He then turned and waved to Kazumi.

"You brat!"

Kazumi cursed as she watched Karot's retreating figure, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.